Master chef Emeril Lagasse, the garrulous star of one of cable TV's most popular cooking shows, played "himself" in this eponymously titled NBC sitcom. The story lines revolved around the behind-the-scenes intrigues attending Emeril's weekly TV series and his clashes with his virtually all-female production staff: producer Cassandra Gilman (Lisa Ann Walter), stage manager Melva LeBlanc (Sherri Shepard), and fussy food stylist B.D. Benson (Carrie Preston). Further yocks were generated by Emeril's domestic travails with his agent, Jerry McKenney (Robert Urich), and his funky teenaged son, James (James Laffety), who worked as an intern on the TV show. Lagasse's trademarked catch phrase "Bam!" was not unexpectedly hauled out at the slightest provocation, usually when the writing failed to come up to the usual standards of executive producers Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. Its scheduled September 18, 2001, debut date was postponed by news coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy, and Emeril finally emerged from the oven on September 25, 2001.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
